Disclaimer: Naruto and every character of the Naruto universe belongs to Kishimoto Masashi and companies I don't know.
I want to thank the hard work of ScarsOfTime who originally betad this crap into an actual chapter. Applause for betaing the revision goes to my precious beta readers: ImaginationJunkie1412, Duesal10 and Minatochan2
Original upload date: 02/11/2012
Last update: 12th of October 2014 (Complete revision)
Chance for a Prophecy
Chapter 3. – First Steps Through the Door
Minato was lying in his bed with his arms crossed behind his head as he stared at the ceiling unblinkingly. He had been trying to sleep for the past hour, but his wandering thoughts restrained him from drifting into a well-deserved dream.
He turned his head to the side to face the slim woman next to him. Her chest moved up and down in the rhythm of her breathing. Her long, ruby red hair flowed around her peaceful form and gave a perfect frame to her face's delicate features. He reached out and gently stroked a tuft of hair away from her face that disturbed her perfection. The young woman mumbled something incoherent and moved a little in her sleep, allowing another tuft of hair to replace the previous one. A gentle smile tugged Minato's lips upward and didn't bother himself to brush it away, instead turning toward the ceiling again.
His thoughts wandered to the blond boy. Clashing feelings met in his mind as he thought over the events.
First of all, none of the security seals sensed his appearance. The seals could be circumvented if someone were to reduce his chakra levels to near depletion, but that was just unimaginable. Nobody could suppress his chakra to that extreme; it was impossible.
Every living thing radiated a minimal amount, regardless of how hard someone tried and how skilled and well-trained they were. Only dead bodies were completely free of chakra, and the boy was clearly anything but. Underground or aerial entry were also unrealistic possibilities, the seals surrounding the village were like an invisible barrier and every intruder would be sensed. It could be a space-time ninjutsu, but again, that was also very unrealistic. With that kind of life threatening injury it was impossible for anyone to perform a top-ranked jutsu like that. And the seals would also trigger his arrival. However, if someone else had performed the jutsu on him… that seemed the most believable scenario. But that would still trigger the security system. Minato made a half nod.
When he passed the danger of death, he showed remarkable healing abilities. This was not something new, though it was very rare since the destruction of Whirlpool country and the Uzumaki clan. His eyes instinctively wandered toward the woman next to him, then back to the ceiling, his eyes narrowing slightly as his mind moved to the next question that hadn't let him fall asleep.
The ANBU checked his belongings, but they found nothing significant other than a scroll and seal tags in his pouch. He didn't have a hitai-ate, or perhaps he lost it before his arrival. That seemed likely, seeing his clothes were also tattered beyond recognition. They couldn't find any clan symbols on what was left of the fabric.
Minato already checked the scroll and the seal tags. The tags were safe, simple exploding tags modified with increased or decreased potency. This was why they hadn't recognized them immediately. It was fairly uncommon practice. For him, a simple once-over of them was enough. The only really interesting thing in his belongings was the sole scroll, and it annoyed him to no end. He couldn't open it. He was one of the rare seal masters, but he couldn't handle a teenager's seal. The closing seal was a combination: the opener had to have a special type of chakra, combined with blood identification, and three other specific methods of which he was still unclear. The alluding symbols were just a big mess of gibberish.
When the boy had first woken up, confused and disorientated, speaking about a genjutsu, it gave a small comfort to everyone's mind. It's not without precedent that a shinobi under the pressure of war broke and suffered mental damage. There was also a man who had been captured in a high level genjutsu for weeks during the first year of the war, and he couldn't accept reality for days. He was paranoid and saw enemies at every turn. However, the boy was conscious, and he was aware of his surroundings, and it didn't match with the previous case.
One thing was certain; he repeatedly mentioned a red-eyed person, and genjutsu plus red-eyes pointed only to one option: an Uchiha. Konoha's police force was already informed about the case and ordered to investigate, but they reported that no one from the clan had ever had a confrontation with him. No one admitted to it, anyway, but there wasn't any reason for them to keep it secret. If his opponent wasn't from the clan, that meant there was someone outside the village wandering around with a sharingan.
The frown deepened on Minato's face. The boy recognized him and Sarutobi, but that wasn't a big deal. After all, Sarutobi was the Hokage, and he himself was marked in every single bingo book. What was bothering him was the emotions the boy had showed. What he saw and what Sarutobi mentioned. It just didn't make any sense. Sadness, sorrow and those eyes, full of shame in the end. He didn't even have the courage to look into Minato's eyes. When he was faced with an enemy, Minato knew what he'd find in their eyes when they recognize Konoha's Yellow Flash. Fear, panic, but not shame.
If he was captured in enemy territory, he was sure he wouldn't feel what Sarutobi found in the boy's eyes. Respect… okay, maybe. One should always respect their enemy, especially a powerful one, but he was certain that hope and relief would be the furthest from his mind if he found himself face to face with any of the Kages. And he'd absolutely never call any of them "jiji."He shook his head to banish the unpleasant thought about his bloody death if he ever call the Tsuchikage that way and tried to calm his mind.
His panic attack in the end was reasonable, but its cause wasn't. The root cause wasn't because he was faced with strong opponents; it was because he realized that he really wasn't under a genjutsu. The real question was: what had happened to the boy that he couldn't accept the fact that this was reality? He let out a soft sigh and turned toward the ruby-haired woman next to him.
Minato already accepted the boy's sensing skills. It wasn't to be considered a threat, but a great advantage on the battlefield.
Inoichi gathered some very interesting information during the time he was in his mind. The basic knowledge that he had had also matched up with a seasoned shinobi's. But come on, itching powder? A small smile appeared on his face automatically, but it was gone with his next thought.
Minato's mind drifted to the memory fragment that Inoichi had shown them, to the words the boy used during that memory. His voice echoed inside his mind. 'I'll break the cycle of hatred. I'll break the curse. If there is such a thing as peace, I'll find it. Believe in me. This is the legacy that they left for me.' Those sentences convinced him that the boy didn't mean harm to the village. No spy would choose a goal as noble as that.
Minato turned over and crossed his arms beneath his head to watch the ceiling evidence pointed to a fight. His injuries, his torn clothes, the chakra exhaustion. Someone tried to get rid of the blond, and he was almost successful. Someone used a space-time ninjutsu on him that transferred the boy to Konoha, perhaps to get rid of the body, and that someone was an Uchiha.
He turned to his partner to hug her to him and finally get some sleep. His eyelids soon became heavy, and he let them fall by the call of gravity and exhaustion. He bedded himself closer to his peacefully sleeping companion to enjoy the warmth of the woman, who moved a little when she felt the soft touch of his body. Minato smiled with closed eyes, but stayed still so as not to disturb her dream.
A loud snore bubbled out from Kushina and Minato's eyes flung it didn't stop. She continued her disturbing symphony until Minato's head started to sighed, cursed to himself silently, and closed his eyes again, attempting to block out the irritating noise from his mind.
Minato was staring at the teenage boy in front of him as he almost inhaled his fifth cup of instant ramen for breakfast, while he himself held his second cup of coffee. He had another long night and woke up before the alarm to hand in his full report to the Hokage about the last three days of their guest. The Namikaze watched the boy with amusement, and he couldn't help the words that slipped out from his mouth. "You know, that stuff isn't too healthy. Especially not for breakfast."
The young blond drank the last bit of the soup and patted his stomach with satisfaction before leaning back in the chair, which gave a plaintive squeak under his weight in response. "I know, but that was the first thing that came to mind when they asked about breakfast, and it's delicious."
"You really like that trash, don't you?" The boy didn't answer, instead shrugging with a wide, toothy grin plastered on his face. Minato considered continuing the topic but instead choose to be straightforward. "Any news about your memory?"
The young boy shook his head and fixed his eyes onto the floor, counting the tiles under him to avoid contact. "Nope, nothing. I thought that maybe I'd dream about my life, but I just blacked out again," he muttered to one of the tiles. The slight frown deepened on Minato's face, and he sipped his coffee to make his brain work properly.
"You know—" the boy had started but then stopped.
"What?" Minato looked at him questioningly.
"You know, maybe I don't want to remember." His voice dropped to a low volume, almost whispering, while he still stared at the floor beneath him, stubbornly refusing to meet the jounin's searching blue eyes. "The first night, I mourned for the blond girl. I don't even know who she was and still. It still hurts." The blond looked up at him, the once vibrant blue ocean darkened to a royal blue, while a small, sad smile tugged his lips upward. "I want a new life. If possible, a happy one. I don't want to start it with mourning over people I don't even know."
The blond's voice was now filled with determination, but when he finished, he had looked down again to escape from Minato's eyes while shame flushed through his own. "It doesn't hurt if I don't remember anything," he whispered in a soft tone more to convince himself than the other blond.
Minato had been observing the blond boy for several minutes with a wary face, but he said nothing, just moved to a more comfortable position in his chair before he tried to break the blond's dark thoughts. "If you want to start over, first we should find a fitting name for you."
"It would be nice if I had a proper one. I really hate it when everyone calls me 'Blondie.' It's annoying," the boy whined while crossing his arms in front of his chest like an irritated child. It was so out of scene in the depths of Konoha's Torture and Interrogation Force.
But Minato couldn't help but let a wide, cheeky smile spread across his face. "What about 'Kane?'"
"'Gold?' That isn't much better than 'Blondie,'" the boy muttered and rolled his eyes in displeasure.
"You don't like it? Then how about 'Goldie?'" Minato chuckled.
"Very funny."
"Anything particular in your mind?"
The boy had thought for a second then shook his head. "Nothing."
"'Odoroki Toroku?' That would suit you," wondered Minato. Because that was what the boy was to him. A wonder. A surprise that fell from the sky. And every single time he looked into his azure eyes, he got a strange feeling. Like looking into a mirror that reflected his own soul. Bare and naked. And sometimes he hated what he saw there.
"'Azure Surprise?' What a kind of name is that? However… 'Toroku?'" The blond tried out how it sounded, rolling the words on his tongue several times, tapping his chin with his index finger. "Hm, I like that one." He smirked.
"Then it's settled, Toroku," grinned Minato.
The newly named Toroku had given a foxy grin in exchange and maneuvered himself to a more comfortable position. "Can I go outside?"
"In the future. But not today, I'm afraid."
Toroku had given a disappointed look but nodded. He had already made the first step toward his new life. And for now, that was enough. And he was satisfied. Really. However, he wouldn't be able to shake off the sour taste from the side of his tongue for the rest of the day.
Toroku knew Konoha was far away from trusting him, but he really hoped that he could explore the village that day. He wasn't handling the isolation very well, even though it was only his third day.
He was bored to death and thirsty for the outside world. His room was small and plain with a bed in the corner, a desk with two chairs, and a small bathroom connected to it. The room obviously wasn't meant for comfort and entertainment. It was still much better than the hospital room and the horrid smell of illness, blood, and disinfectant. He leaned back on the bed and contemplated his situation after Minato left his room.
The first night was a hard one. After the ANBU escorted him to this room, he was completely drained. Toroku just collapsed to the bed in his clothes, but after struggling for hours to sleep, he gave up. Though he didn't want to think, that was his only option to kill time. He turned on his back and crossed his arms beneath his head, watching the pale ceiling while another familiar blond was doing the same on the other side of the village.
He thought about the only memory of his old life he was able to regain, and it unnerved him. He felt sorrow and regret for the blond girl, and he sunk into the deep abyss, mourning for the young kunoichi. He was sure that she was a ninja, and he was also certain that he himself was also one. During the questioning, when Makoto had asked about random things, he knew perfectly what the man was talking about, but without any connecting memory. He knew about ninjutsu, what a chakra release was, how to do it, and so on. But before he had heard the terms, he didn't know about their existence. The information just sort of... popped up. He had this knowledge buried deep in the pit of his mind, lying dormant until he had to access it. Makoto also mentioned various names. Kurama… A picture of an animal jumped into his mind, but he couldn't identify what it was. Maybe a dog...? Perhaps. Uchiha… This name left a bittersweet feeling in his chest. The mixture of hatred and caring. But nothing else. No recollection of a memory, just vague emotions.
When he thought about the pink haired kunoichi his heart swelled with adoration, but in the background of his mind, an uneasy feeling was already starting to prod. Sakura. It is — or was — her name.
As the picture of the dead blond girl flowed again into his mind, he shook his head. He didn't want another painful memory. He didn't want to feel that sorrow ever again. He received a second chance to become a better — and perhaps happier — person.
His own voice echoed in his mind. "I'll break the cycle of hatred. I'll break this curse. If there is such a thing as peace, I'll find it. Believe in me. This is the legacy that they left for me." Those were strong words. Those were the words of someone who lived through a hard life. He didn't know if he was ready for this burden. He didn't know if he wanted anything to do with it. However, the thought of turning away from it made his heart constrict. Legacy… His thoughts flashed through the memory again and stopped at another part. "I don't go back on my word. That is my nindo." That statement made his heart ache with determination and pride. It felt pleasant. This was something he should follow. But change the world and bring peace. How can he do that? He closed his eyes and moved to face the wall behind his bed.
He had been struggling between a new future without memories in a brand new life and a future which seemed to only bring him pain if he regained his memories.
His thoughts moved to what Minato told to him. He could stay and join Konoha, or he could leave freely. But what would he do if he left? Where would he go?
Toroku let out a sigh and tried to occupy himself with something other than thinking to avoid his mind float again to those depressing thoughts. He moved his eyes toward the ceiling until he found his only other entertainment in the small, empty room. A tiny spider in the corner started to settle down in Konoha. The base of a spider web was already formed, steadily attached to the surface of the white walls. The blond fixed his vibrant, azure eyes on the small black dot as it was making a perfect spiral from the thin, almost invisible material defining its new home.
"I'm bored to death."
Minato arched an amused eyebrow at the frustrated blond boy. Was he whining?
"I want to do something. Anything." Yes, he was whining. Despite the Konoha jounin's more frequent visits, Toroku couldn't occupy himself. He and one of the ANBU guards brought him books, but he missed the outside world and the normal connection with people. A frustrated groan bubbled out from Toroku's mouth once more while he folded his arms in front of his chest with a well-defined pout. That was too much for Minato. He burst out with a barking laughter and stepped closer to the sulking — and now also annoyed — teen when he could finally gather his composure.
"You've only been here for a week, and you slept through the most of it. Endure it for a little longer," Minato chuckled once more and reached into his vest pocket to take out a small book and handed it to Toroku. "I brought you something that might help you out."
A grimace spread across the boy's face instantly, turning the small print several times. "Another book? Look, I don't want to seem ungrateful, but reading just isn't my style."
"It contains brain-teasers. I want you to solve them by this afternoon. I'll come back at three to pick it up, so you have roughly six hours to finish them."
The boy raised his right eyebrow at Minato while suspiciously eyeing the book like it could bite off his hand at any time. "Why?"
"It'll keep you occupied," Minato smiled at Toroku, who frowned and finally flipped it open.
"Keep me occupied, my ass." Toroku groaned. When Minato left him alone with the book, he moved onto the bed and was now sitting on it, his legs crossed, staring at the book in his lap. After he had read the first two pages, he knew exactly what it was all about. The book contained tests about several competencies and aspects. "This is a damn IQ test!" He shout out into the empty roomwaiting for an answer that never came, desperately seeking interaction with anyone or anything.
He glanced up to the corner with the small black spider, in the hope that it'll react. But of course it didn't reply, nor did it acknowledge him in any ways. "I really hate books," he grumbled, shook his head and turned his attention back to the book in his lap. He had read again the last exercise on the page and let out a sigh. He quickly wrote down his answer and flipped the page.
Minato received the book from one of the ANBU that was in charge of Toroku. At one o'clock. He managed to finish it more than two hours before the deadline.
He eagerly flipped through the pages to check the answers but only to realize that there was a reason that he had received the book much earlier. Namely that it was only half done. Several pages were left unfinished or even untouched. Like Toroku got tired of them halfway. And most likely that was the case since almost the same kind of exercises were neatly done some pages before, so he would have been able to do the missed ones.
His brows furrowed when his eyes had trailed to the left corner and caught several sketches on the margin.
His frown deepened as he flipped more and more pages. It changed from page to page. It was nothing more than a round scribble on the first pages, but it soon evolved into a black, spiral like thing. The Yellow Flash narrowed his eyes and focused on the sketches as he flipped the pages with his fingers.
A moving form animated from the sketches. A whirling spiral with a hole in its left side. Was it a whirlwind? Or the eye of an unstoppable storm? It could mean a lot, or it was also possible that it meant nothing in particular. A deep frown carved up onto Minato's forehead, and he opened it again to, this time, summarize the answers.
"So how many?" Toroku asked with a sullen tone in his voice during a morning visit of Minato. It was almost a week since he gave back that damn book to him, and the jounin hadn't said a word about it.
"How many what?" he asked indifferently.
"You know. My IQ."
Minato blinked in surprise at his statement and stared back at the boy. "It's average."
Toroku shot back a skeptical glance but said nothing.
"I spoke with the Hokage yesterday." The boy shrugged and continued to observe the tiny spider in the corner. "I asked for more freedom for you." Now that caught the boy's interest. Toroku's eyes had widened in his surprise and hopefulness flooded his face, desperately waiting for Minato to finally finish the sentence. "He gave permission. You can leave the institution but only under surveillance."
Toroku's mouth morphed into the widest grin Minato had ever seen on his face. Minato mirrored him, but maybe a bit more moderately. "Are you just going to sit there, or should we take this outside?"
Toroku instantly hurtled from his bed and stretched his arms behind his head, still grinning like an idiot. "Readier than ever, dattebayo!"
Minato arched an eyebrow, but let it go. "Then come on, we're heading out."
Toroku enjoyed the feeling of a warm breeze and sunshine on his face, his eyes closed. He let out a strange sound, something between a satisfied sigh and a moan, and turned to Minato. "Hey, can we pick up something to eat?"
"You just finished your breakfast. And I doubt that you have any money in your pockets."
Toroku had raised his left hand behind his head and nervously scratched the back of his neck. "Oh, yeah. I totally forgot about that. It's okay if we just walk."
Minato had given him a smile and waved his hand as a sign to follow him.
They strolled on the wide streets without a real destination, letting their legs choose the path. The blonds passed by an uncountable number of shops filled with goods and traveling vendors, shouting how fresh and high-quality the products they were selling were.
Finally, they reached a great square filled with people going after their daily tasks. Toroku had stopped to watch them all as they marched up and down, everyone with their own concern. A man in standard shinobi clothes had jumped down to the ground from a window only to gracefully land nearby. He had noticed Minato, and with a small, greeting nod he shunshined out of the crowd with a flicker of his chakra. A minute later, a woman in casual clothes stepped to the wall of a building to defy gravity by walking parallel to the ground a few feet above them, evading the thick crowd.
Toroku smiled and continued watching the citizens of Konoha living their everyday life. He wordlessly listened to the village's pulse, beating together with the rhythm of the soft breeze. It buzzed continuously over his head, but it wasn't disturbing. It was like the peaceful moment when after a long and cold winter, the first real sunbeams lure you out from the house.
And you were answering the call, settling down under a tree and listening to the first bees' buzzing noise as they were flying over your head as spring's first messengers, looking for sweet nectar above your head.
He had looked up at the monument of the previous Hokage and tilted his head to the side. He had been staring at them for several minutes before he shook his head in discomfort.
Minato had stepped beside him and traced back his eyes curiously. "These are the mementos of our past leaders."
"I know." Minato looked at the blond with a raised eyebrow but didn't comment on it, waiting for him to continue. "I just have a feeling that something is missing from it."
Toroku shook his head and gave a last suspicious look at the monument.
"It would look great with some more colors on it." He had given a smirk to Minato, who responded with a disapproving frown.
A group of children passed beside them, running, laughing and arguing about their biggest concern: what to play and where to go next. In the next second, Toroku suddenly swayed, almost losing his balance. And the cause? Simple. One of them had been arguing so enthusiastically that he disregarded everything around him, bumping into Toroku from behind and almost pushing him to the ground.
"Hey! Why don't you watch where you're going!? You're in the way, moron!" the child shouted indignantly, pointing an accusing finger at him.
Minato watched the scene from the corner of his eye, but he didn't interrupt. He was curious as to how he would handle the situation.
Toroku narrowed his eyes and leaned closer to the boy. "You should watch your step and your mouth. You were the one who bumped into me. Apologize. "
A soundless glaring contest started between the two boys before it was interrupted by a girl from the running group. "What's that on your face?"
Toroku blinked in his surprise and touched his left cheek while he turned toward the girl, only to realize that the boy's whole group was now staring at them alongside the other villagers. He gently stroked a finger along the soft line of one of his whisker marks while he straightened from his stooped pose to face the girl.
"It looks creepy," declared the naughty boy in front of him.
"You know, your face isn't any better with those marks under your eyes," Toroku stated as he snapped his head back toward the arrogant child.
"This is our clan's symbol, you dumb ass!"
Toroku's eyes narrowed again and tilted his head. Only one stoic word left his mouth. But it almost caused a small war. "Shrimp."
The boy had narrowed his eyes in response, his muscles tensing as he breathed in a large amount of air in order to launch a barrage of obscenities at the blond.
Before the arguing could reach a fever pitch, Minato stepped between them. "I think it's time for us to go."
"No," Toroku stated in a deliberate, commanding voice, stopping his escort in the middle of turning to follow his own advice.
Minato blinked and narrowed his eyes to the blond. That was not the response he was expecting.
"He was rude and unmannerly. I'm staying until he apologizes." Minato let out a sigh, but before he could say anything, Toroku again turned his attention to the boy in front of him.
"Take responsibly for your actions. You bumped into me, and instead of apologizing you insulted me. Learn some manners. If you're from a clan, then you'll become a ninja, and shinobi can't be irresponsible. If you make a decision, there will always be consequences. An irresponsible ninja is reckless and will end up dying early." He crossed his arms in front of his chest and steadfastly stared into the eyes of the child for a seemingly never-ending minute.
Minato was impressed.
"Iaploize."
Toroku raised an eyebrow at the baffling mumble of the boy.
"I said I apologize for my behavior. You happy?" The boy had also crossed his arms in front of his chest and turned aside.
Minato's left eyebrow rose until it reached his hitai-ate on his forehead. Indeed… very impressed.
A wide, satisfied grin spread across Toroku's face, and he ruffled the boy's hair, who only responded with annoyed mumbling. "Apology accepted. Take care, shrimp."
With a grin, he turned to Minato to follow their previous route into the city center. He could hear the boy's displeased voice at his nickname.
They were walking side by side for several minutes before Minato looked at him. "You're good with children."
Toroku shrugged. "Dunno. I just felt that that was the right thing to do."
Minato smiled and nodded. "Well, I think you deserve a reward after that little scene."
Five minutes later, they reached a small stand. Wide white stripes hung down from the roof to shroud the inside and to display an advertisement of the place with bright red letters. Ichiraku's Ramen Bar was empty as they approached the four bar stools. They sat down and Toroku give a sad smile to Minato. "I don't have any money."
"This is a reward. That means it's my treat."
That immediately conjured a grin on Toroku's face, and he started to examine the menu card in front of him.
Ichiraku had turned toward them and gave a wide smile to his customers. "The usual, Minato-kun?" Minato just nodded as a welcome and also in his approval. "And for the young man?" Teichu finally turned toward the other golden crown to face with his customer.
Well, at least he wanted, but Toroku hid his whole face behind the menu, only his golden crown visible while he was lost in his small word as he dug through every single offered dish. Even his tongue was out, and his brow furrowed in concentration. He took his sweet time for sure. After long minutes, he finally slammed the menu down on the counter only to order the first one from the card. "A miso ramen." And after Minato's disapproving glare he added a faint, „Please." Teichu nodded and turned to prepare the two meals, giving some privacy to his newest customer.
Toroku swept his eyes over the small place, and a familiar warm feeling swelled in his chest. Comfort. An unbeatable power tugged his lips upward into a sincere smile. He did nothing, told nothing, only let the feeling overwhelm his inside until he heard the distinct rattle of a bowl being placed in front of him. Only then did he turn back to the counter to reach for two sets of chopsticks and handed one to Minato.
"Itadakimasu!" The two blonds stated in unison, and they shared a knowing look with each other.
"You know, Minato-kun, you two look very alike. Is he your relative?"
Minato shook his head and smiled an awkward smile. "No, he's… a guest of Konoha."
"A guest?" Ichiraku raised a doubting eyebrow but didn't comment on the strange statement or — more likely — on the tone of it.
For minutes, only satisfied slurping could be heard inside the small stand.
But it soon stopped as one blond fixed his gaze on his half-eaten dish while the other was observing his still form like a hawk.
Minato was the hawk. And Toroku? He had been fixing his eyes on the floating pink and white fishcake in his bowl. His mind blanked out, the scene overwhelming his eyesight. He slowly started to hover around it with the chopsticks, and now he was staring at the whirling fishcake with blank eyes. Something important. He knew deep in his mind that this was connected to something important. He frowned, but his mind stayed completely blank, waiting for something to happen, waiting for a memory to trigger, or an emotion to wash over him like before. But nothing came.
He used his chopstick to make the fishcake whirl again, trusting that maybe this time something would happen. He focused his sight at the slowly whirling symbol. It felt very familiar. So damn familiar, but he couldn't find a grasp it.
Minato had noticed the blond's weird behavior and his blank expression. He had turned toward him and tilted his head to the right to observe, but he found only focused concentration. It felt like he could touch it with his bare hands.
"Naruto." The blond flung his head up and stared at the familiar blue eyes, wrinkles deepening on his forehead even more, if that was possible. "It's naruto. You don't like it?"
Toroku shook his head and stared down into his bowl at the slowly spinning fishcake, stopping its movement with his chopstick. "It's not that. I don't know. It just— I don't know really." He put down his chopsticks and turned around to face the ceiling in his discomfort.
A deep frown spread across Minato's forehead. "You remembered something?"
Toroku shook his head again. This time in denial. "No. It was just a feeling. It felt like something important and familiar. But nothing happened."
Awkward silence settled down between the two men. Neither of them touched their dish.
"I've been thinking a lot about what you said to me," Toroku's voice finally broke the stillness, gaining Minato's attention in an instant. "About my possibilities. That I can leave."
A deep, troubled frown dug into Minato's fine skin for the hundredth time during the week with Toroku, but it was soon replaced by a new emotion. Disappointment rose in his chest. He hardened his expression and continued listening.
"But I don't have anywhere else to go. I don't even know where else I could go." He had looked to Minato and hardened his own expression. "I want to stay in Konoha." His eyes were brimming with determination while Minato let out the breath he wasn't realizing he was holding in. "I want to stay here, and I also want to offer my services to the village as a shinobi. "
Minato blinked away his surprise and answered with a soft smile. "I understand. I'll inform the Hokage about this. But be aware that the final decision will be in his hands." Toroku nodded and smiled back, relieved. He wanted to start the day with this, but he couldn't find the proper opportunity to bring it up. The heavy burden about his new future left his shoulders. He struggled with his options throughout the night, but he finally made his decision.
A low, girlish chuckle broke the silence, followed by more low and soft womanly voices weaving their way through the white stripes. "He's really here! Look!" The girls continued to gossip in front of the stand. "Should we go in?"
Minato palmed his forehead while muttering to himself. "Today of all days."
"Hey, Minato-kun, it seems it's time to sound the retreat, isn't it?" Ichiraku grinned at him. "You need a hand?"
Minato immediately nodded and put the money on the counter while beckoning to the confused blond to follow him to slip out the back door, just in time for Toroku to see three young girls peeping inside the stand between the white stripes.
They had made it to the next street and Toroku gave a suspicious look to Minato. "Are you some kind of celebrity or something?" asked the young blond, with arms crossed and eyebrows raised.
"Don't you dare ask anything!" Minato had given an ice cold glare to Toroku, who in turn dismissed the burning question from his mind but not without shooting a knowing look with a foxy grin to the older blond.
Minato shot one more warning glare and glanced upward at the sun. "It's time for us to head back," he stated to the teenager.
"Yeah. Our two friends must be pretty bored by now." Toroku nodded his head toward the rooftop where the two ANBU flinched at the statement under the shadows.
Minato just shook his head slowly and turned around to escort Toroku back to his room.
Minato was now heading toward to top story of the Hokage tower. The last rays of the descending sun were painting a cavalcade of warm colors on the building's white walls. The first stars were already starting to appear lazily on the darkening canvas of the night sky.
Instead of the main entrance, he chose a more scenic route in order to avoid a certain secretary. He walked toward an open window parallel to the ground. He had peeped inside and grinned as he heard the Sandaime's soft snores. His head rested on his folded arms as he leaned on a big tower of most-likely-important documents, using them as a pillow. He chuckled to himself and walked toward his respected leader to wake him up, but he found something very tempting on the desk that broke his concentration. He thought for a moment before letting the grin grew wider on his delicate features.
He moved nearer to his leader and shook his hand in front of his face to be sure he was still sleeping. His white hair was swayed tenderly by the discrete movement of his hand. No reaction. He stepped aside and placed his hand on the top of a white triangle-shaped hat and sneaked one last short peek over his shoulder at the sleeping Sandaime.
He grabbed the hat and slowly put it onto his head and slinked quietly toward the small mirror to admire his work.
Before he could reach his destination a noise had echoed through the silent office as the Hokage cleared his throat to draw his attention.
Minato had jumped backward and landed less gracefully than he had intended in the middle of the room, a kunai in his hand ready to attack. The hat tilted down to the side of his face awkwardly. He stared toward the desk and saw Sarutobi leaning on it, his head propped up by his hand. He was observing Minato, tapping his chin with his index finger as if lost in thought, like a father thinking of a proper punishment for his child.
"Hokage-sama." Minato had smiled nervously toward the desk while he straightened himself.
"You know Minato, I think I don't want to comment this."
Minato slowly got rid of the hat by putting it back on the desk as he stepped forward.
Sarutobi just shook his head and smiled at him in forgiveness. "So what brings you here? Not just the fashion thing, I think."
"Sorry, the temptation was too much to ignore." Minato gave a small apologetic smile toward his leader.
Hiruzen eyed the man for a long moment before his lips turned into a mischievous smile. "You will have enough time for that later."
Minato paused for a fraction before tossing the comment to the side, but carefully storing it. "I came to report that Odoroki Toroku made his decision. He wants to join Konoha's shinobi force."
Sarutobi nodded as he prepared his pipe, eventually filling the room with gently floating tobacco smoke. "So be it. I'll accept but only with several conditions." The Sandaime was waiting for Minato's response, but when he received none, he continued after a drag from his pipe. "I want him to stay under high observation for two weeks, and for the time being, he will stay at the Torture and Interrogation Force where we can keep more of an eye on him. For the sake of safety, make an appointment with Inoichi once a week until further notice. And as I already said, you are responsible for him. He's not allowed on the streets of Konoha alone during this period. Also, before being assigned to any groups we need to measure his abilities and his ninja skills properly. Arrange one of the training grounds and a sparring partner for him in one or two days."
Minato nodded, his composure loosening as an invisible weight was lifted from his shoulders. "I'm grateful for your decision. This means we don't need to worry about the council anymore."
"Indeed. They were starting to become very active about the boy's case." Sarutobi had given him a warm smile as he finally really looked at Minato. "You seem much better."
"Yeah. That's true. Kushina also stopped complaining about my mood swings," he admitted with a sour grimace.
"I'm aware of your more frequent visits with Toroku. The ANBU always keep me up to date about the boy's status. Actually, they are quite frustrated with him. He always seems to spot them, regardless of what they do," Sarutobi chuckled.
"I'm not surprised. He tramples on their pride continuously. Maybe he's giving them a little push to improve. It's actually really a shame that a teenager can simply play with our elites like that. About the visits, I have to occupy myself during my break, and Toroku is always a guaranteed good time." Minato smiled back, but it soon morphed into a wide grin. "He's starting to become more comfortable. He's a healthy teenager in a lot of aspects. Sometimes he acts so much like Kushina." Minato gave a wandering look to Sarutobi and tilted his head toward the ceiling as he continued his line of thoughts. "Yesterday, he loosened the saltshaker's head while we were eating. I had to throw my whole breakfast away." The blond grunted in irritation and received a chuckle from the Third.
Minato shook his head and took out a scroll from his vest. "Anyway, I think that's all for today. Here's my full report with all of the details of today's observation. If there isn't anything more, I'd like to head home."
Sarutobi nodded and watched as the young shinobi disappeared from his office in the blink of an eye after he bowed to the Third.
He moved to the window to catch the last rays of the setting sun. Hiruzen lazily inhaled a puff from his pipe and exhaled it slowly, watching as the smoke drew abstract forms in the air before disappearing. He was unsettled.
The thought that Toroku managed to befriend Minato in such a small amount of time troubled him. He still could be an undercover agent waiting to regain his memories and strike, possibly at Minato himself, and going by the new information, it was more than feasible that this was a very elaborate and very well prepared assassination.
Sarutobi had slowly turned to his desk to pull open a drawer and retrieve its contents. He flipped open the bulky file, fixing his eyes on the first page with Toroku's goofily smiling picture. He couldn't hide its contents for long, he had to tell Minato. He let out a disturbed sigh and after placing back the thick file to its previous place, he moved back to the window to admire the full moon in the now inky black sky.
Author's note:
This is a lighter chapter than the previous one. Also because I want to manipulate your thoughts. He is now calmed down, bored and his old personality starting to come back to the surface after the first shocks.
About Naruto's new name: I used a dictionary, so if you spot anything unreasonable let me know.